The present invention pertains to cable elevators.
Elevator systems in which the elevator cabin is lifted or lowered by cables are sufficiently known. A common way of action therein lies in arranging the required elements, like guide rails for the elevator cabin as well as deflection sheaves for the cables etc. within an elevator shaft. This way of action is not only quite expensive as a plurality of individual elements have to be transferred to the respective mounting position, have to be arranged there individually and have to be connected with the remaining elements of the elevator, but also is essentially unsuitable for the subsequent equipment of old buildings with elevator systems, as no elevator shafts at all are existing in which the individual elements of the elevator system to be assembled could be arranged.
In order to be able to erect an elevator or to subsequently equip the housing with such one in spite of the lacking elevator shaft, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,258 provides that a self-supporting shaft scaffold is erected out of vertical and horizontal and vertical beams by plugging into one another individual modules consisting of vertical and horizontal beams step-by-step, i.e. one above the other, whereby a self-supporting shaft scaffold is created. On this self-supporting shaft scaffold the guide rails are fixed from the inside. These guide rails, however, only have a guide function. A load-reducing function is not taken over by the guide rails in this construction. Such erection of a self-supporting shaft scaffold thus is comparatively expensive in material and work, since after erection of the complete shaft an additional working cycle for fixation of the guide rails is required.
It, therefore, is the object of the present invention to create an elevator system which is independent from an elevator shaft provided for in a housing, which can be easily manufactured as well as being assembled economically and which in spite of the reduced material expense for the manufacture of the supporting structure also is flexible in particular in arrangeability of the drive or also the cable sheaves, for e.g. answering the most different installation demands in modernization projects.
An elevator apparatus is provided for in which the essential elements for operating the elevator, including the cable guide, deflection sheaves and drives are assembled in module-shaped mounting frames. In accordance with the present invention, these mounting units therein can be connected to form a self-supporting shaft scaffold which can be held on a house wall. The guide elements for the cabin and the guide elements for the counterweight form vertical beams of the shaft scaffold. By connecting them with the mounting frames forming the horizontal beams of the shaft scaffold, a self-supporting shaft scaffold is created with low material expense.
Simultaneously there are good possibilities for adaptation to the respective individual installment situation. Thus, e.g. in adaptation to the respective individual case it can be chosen which mounting frame is to be the one which accommodates the drive. In addition, there are manifold possibilities to individually define in which way and manner the respective elevator components, the drive and the cable sheaves are to be mounted on the mounting frame. Thus, there is the possibility of mounting within as well as outside of the shaft cross-section bordered by the module-shaped mounting elements. Simultaneously, such a self-supporting shaft scaffold for an elevator can serve as support element for a protective lining in that lining plates are mounted thereon.
The module-shaped mounting elements therein preferably are delivered as pre-assembled units to the place of installation and are assembled only.